Justin's IFS Torture Test; Build and BS thread

Looks good, bud. That’s almost exactly what I ended up cutting.

 

Dang, my issue was clearing near the body mount not so much towards the frame area.

 

Probably a difference in offset/backspacing/alignment. Lots of factors haha, guess I got the short end of the stick

 

Are you trying to use a flux core welder? One of those 90a harbor freight ones?

Oh you already answered my question above.
Uuhh, not the job I would have chosen to do with a shitty flux core welder. You’re going to want good welds to really seal up the seams once you get the sheet metal formed and tacked in place.

Test a bunch on a couple pieces of steel outside the truck. Keep trying lap welds on different settings and weld speeds till you figure it how to at least get your Your tacks to hold enough to get the sheet metal actually welded in place

 

Yeah don't think my welder is going to cut it for this, just thought I'd give it a shot before bugging someone to use their mig. It would tack up but couldn't get a good bead without burning a hole in the Toyota metal and catching everything on fire lol.
Thanks for the information though. I'm pretty new to any real fab work and metal work so I'm just learning as I go.

Right now it's on hold, did a better patch job and going to wait until either I get around to renewing my membership at a shop here or have time to get together with a friend who wants to teach me

 

You probably won’t be able to hold a bead with most any machine unless you go .024” wire mig...and even then it can be really challenging. Sheet metal work is all about tack weld after tack weld until it’s solid

 

Ya this is not the job I would have undertaken if I was brand new to fab work with a flux core welder. It’s a really slow process, of tack, hammer and bend bit more into place, tack, hammer some more, tack until you have the shape in there right. It took me a whole weekend for this process, in a full shop with a lift, and a friend who is a very knowledgeable fabricator

 

When I did mine, my buddy had really good luck using TIG and 3/32 silicon bronze filler rod. Takes forever, but it worked really well on the paper thin stock sheet metal.

 

Appreciate the tips guys! I like the process of learning all this, it's just a lot of work. Im trying to get kinda creative with a solution for now. Now can anyone tell me this, is there any reason why it shouldn't work if I get some plastic sheeting that I can mold with a heat gun and rivet it up with an rtv seal around the edge? Assuming no one puts too much force on it from the inside and breaks the seal

 

Common practice is to weld in sheet metal, but you can’t rely on the welds to seal out the elements so you have to seam seal everything. Perhaps using some beefy kydex ABS sheet and riveting liberally would get you to the same place structurally since you’d have to seal things up regardless. It isn’t TW gospel, but it’s an interesting idea, because welding that shit in that position without starting a fire is a pain in the ass for sure.

 

If I can find the right material in a 2x2 sheet, I'm going to give it a shot. Worth experimenting right? We'll see if it is a viable permanent solution but may end up being a more sophisticated bandaid lol

 

My concern would be the durability of the rivets. Have you ever looked at an old riveted aluminum camper top? How about an old riveted John boat?

They leak. Over time, movement causes the rivet to waller out its hole. Big hole plus small rivet equals water intrusion.

Not trying to talk you out of it. Just telling you what I know.

 

Hmm. good point, but I imagine smothering the edges with RTV before riveting it may solve this? Not sure really but still might be interesting to try. Idk how any of this would come out but I don't think it's a terrible idea to play with, just a neat idea that's a little different

 

I'd personally avoid the rivets on something this low on the body near multiple bends. If you have a Home Depot local to you and a couple buddies ready to go I'd rent the Lincoln 140 MIG and borrow a gas bottle. I have one of those little bastards and it is very controllable heat wise and the .025 MIG wire is much more appropriately sized for tacking in sheet metal and you'll avoid splatter with the 25/75 CO2 and Argon mix.

 

We have a Maker's Space local with a nice Lincoln MIG, I just need to renew my membership and buy a gas bottle. I don't want to do that until I have more time though so that means after finals and work slows down, like May-ish. Rivets are supposed to be a temp solution if I go that route unless I feel like they work well enough. But I do like hearing all this information on welding equipment/wire/gas whatever, because I really don't know that much about it yet. Definitely appreciated

 

Flex seal ftw!

 

How many takes did it take for him to get it right?

 

Did a thing today

@11TRDTX You got time to mount 3 dirty5's in the shop this week? Would save me a lot of hassle